Da Mihi Basilia Mille
by Sass Master
Summary: Give to me a thousand kisses, then a hundred, then another thousand... Rikku x Paine


**A.N.: It's not ReTi oh my goodness! But I hope you like it all the same. I think I may have wrecked my vision, but let's see.**

**XXXXXXXXX**

Sleeping. Right, that was it.

She was supposed to be sleeping, wasn't she? What happened to that, exactly? Why was she staring at the ceiling of the cabin?

She'd been asleep, even dreaming, and had suddenly found herself awoken by the proverbial 'bump in the night.' Managing not to be startled, she noticed a figure standing next to her bed.

Apparently, the bump in the night was a hyper Al Bhed girl. Who the hell was the Boogyman then? Brother? Well, that would be pretty believable at least.

She rolled over, rubbing an eye. "Rikku? What the hell're you—"

"Umm… are you awake?"

Paine groaned. The loud sound that had woken her up was obviously not just a coincidence—it was Rikku accidentally-on-purpose making noise to escape the wrath she usually suffered when she interrupted Paine's sleep cycle. It should have been apparent from the beginning—while Rikku wasn't exactly the most graceful of people, Paine found it hard to believe that she could trip over something while traveling the short distance between their beds.

She placed the pillow over her face, muffling another annoyed groan. "No. I'm talking to you in my sleep. The voices in your head are acting up again. You're dreaming. Take your pick."

"Voices in my head?" Rikku pouted. "That's not funny."

"Whatever," she mumbled, hoping that if she waited long enough Rikku would give up.

"I can't sleep." No such luck with the giving up thing, apparently. She could hear Rikku shifting back and forth on bare feet.

"Okay." Paine let her answer hang in the air.

"…I think I had a bad dream, but I don't remember."

"Okay." A longer silence ensued.

"I'm getting into your bed, okay?"

"O-_kay_…" she responded with growing aggravation, patience wearing thin. Wait, what did she just agree to? "Hey. Hey!"

But it was too late. God, she should have known better. There was already a girl under her covers, snuggled up to her quite contently. Paine always thought it was ironic that Rikku would choose her, of all people, to treat like a teddy bear. With a resigned sigh, she looped an arm around the smaller girls waist. It wasn't for comfort or affection, it was just a cautionary measure taken—Rikku couldn't stay still, no matter what she was doing, including sleeping. Paine had woken up from a night like the one she was in now, only to find that she had been pushed out of the bed by Rikku's incessant fidgeting.

It was silent for a while, and she could only hope that Rikku had fallen asleep. It became obvious that she wasn't though, and she squirmed around in an effort to get comfortable. She rested her head against Paine's chest, and her hand slid across her bare stomach. The muscles twitched and Paine _prayed _that Rikku wouldn't notice. If Rikku _ever _found out that she was ticklish…

Luck seemed to be with her. Not only had Rikku not noticed, she seemed to be fairly qui—

"Paine?" God, was sleep so much to ask for? "Are you sleeping?"

She huffed in response.

"Oh… sorry."

Right. Sorry. Off to sleep now, thank you.

"I was just thinking…" Rikku was apparently in a chatty mood tonight. "Your skin feels really nice, y'know?" Oh, it was going to be one of _those _conversations, was it? The one-sided kind where Rikku just rattled off any random thought passing through her head, and Paine just tried to fall asleep anyway. "I wish I had skin like yours."

Despite the fact that Rikku could be rather non sequitur, Paine had to wonder where that particular thought had come from. Then she remembered Rikku's hand on her stomach, and the fact that all points of contact between them seemed to be skin against exposed skin. She was about to blame it on Rikku's skimpy sense of fashion, before she realized that not only was Rikku's choice of pajamas more demure than her normal outfit, Paine's ensemble didn't cover very much either.

Paine scoffed, continuing the conversation against her better judgment. "_Why_?" She didn't find her own skin particularly fascinating.

"I dunno," Rikku mused. "It's really soft and stuff, and pale. I guess I like pale skin or something," She extended an arm from underneath the covers. "Mine's so tan. I think I get too much sun. It's all rough and damaged…"

Paine could really care less, though she really didn't see what Rikku was complaining about. Her skin looked and felt fine… Rikku stopped considering her own appendage and placed it back between the sheets, curling up closer to Paine.

Paine actually let her eyes fall closed, thinking the blonde's tangent was over.

"Y'know what else Paine?"

"Oh, please, tell me. I'd love to hear."

She wasn't fazed by the sarcastic tone. "I think your eyes are really cool too. I mean, Al Bhed are supposed to have unique eyes, but they're not really unique if they all have 'em," She stopped to laugh a little. "But yours…" She rolled from her side to her stomach, peering up at Paine. "I don't think I've seen anyone else with eyes like yours."

As Paine stared back into Rikku's swirly green eyes, she could see the girl's point. What fun was having a spiral for a pupil if your whole race did? Paine had never been fond of her own eyes, simply because of the fact that they were so different. But maybe that difference was more something to be proud of than she thought. Rikku was still watching her intently, but she ignored it and tried to get back to sleep.

She heard Rikku giggle and her eyes opened again. "Y'know what _else_?"

Paine sighed. "What?"

"Your lips are really pretty. Well, maybe pretty's not the word…" Rikku put her fingers to her own mouth, thoughtfully. "Mine are so thin," Paine wondered if she'd stretched them out from smiling so much. "Yours look really full and stuff," Is that what Paine had to show for frowning then? Full lips? "And soft." There was that word again.

"Hmph." Paine figured eventually Rikku would get tired of talking. Though she had to admit, she had no idea that there were so many things she had that Rikku was jealous of.

"Are they soft Paine?"

Paine looked at through one eye. "How would I know?"

Rikku scooted closer, eyes twinkling with restrained laugher. "Well they're _yours _aren't they?" Seeing that Paine wasn't going to answer, she continued. "Hmm, yeah, I guess you can't really tell that sort of thing for yourself. You'd need to… kiss them to find out that kinda thing."

What? This discussion was just getting bizarre.

"…Can I?"

"Can you _what_?"

"Kiss you!" She grinned conspiratorially. "I'm really, really curious now. Can I? I'm not perving on you, I swear."

Paine eyed her suspiciously. "Okay, I'm supposed to believe that? You're practically on top of me." Rikku really _was _on top of her, actually. It reminded Paine of a cat.

"Pssh, Paine, get your mind out of the gutter!" she teased. "C'mon, pleeeeeeeease?"

That pout said that rest was not in Paine's near future unless she agreed. "If I say yes, are you gonna let me go to sleep?" And that sly smile said 'Yes but… probably no.' But it was better than nothing. She sighed. "_Fine_."

Rikku closed the minimal distance between them in an instant. It was a brief kiss, and Paine was actually rather surprised at that. Rikku had a tendency to push her luck.

There was staring for a few moments afterward, before Paine spoke up. "Can we go sleep now? _Please_?"

Rikku made a show out of considering her answer. "Hmmm… okay!" She slid back into her original position, cuddled against the woman next to her. Paine's relief at being allowed to go back to sleep was short lived, when Rikku giggled again. "I can't believe you let me do that," She turned around again. "Y'know Paine, I've always wondered what your boobs felt like…"

"Rikku, minus six respe—"

Laughter cut off her threat. "I don't care _how _many respect points I lose, that kiss was totally worth it!"

Despite herself, Paine smiled as well. "Now how am I supposed to believe that you're not 'perving on me'?"

There were more snickers from Rikku. "Perving on you? Ha, you _wish_!"

Paine retaliated by tickling Rikku into submission. Someday, Rikku would figure out that she could use the same tactic against her attacker. Paine hoped it wasn't anytime soon.

Now, with this kiss added to a growing pile of events and secrets that she would rather were kept private, she really didn't need Rikku having any more dirt on her.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**A.N.: Fluff, fluff, fluff. So sue me XD I'd love all the feedback I could get for this fic, considering I'm new at this pairing.**

**So be cool and leave a review!**

**Psst, and most of this was not proofread in a desperate attempt to get it done and posted before I went to bed XD May be fixed later. Feel free to point out mistakes—that will help.**

**Oh! And the title means 'Kiss me with a thousand kisses.' Whoo, more Latin XD**


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